Mouthpiece for wind instruments.



41,648,773. Patehted may l, |900. F. MuNcH.

MUUTHPIECE FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS. (Application med sept. 14, 15399.) (NoModel.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MOUTHPIECE FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,773, dates May 1,1900.

Appiicat'qn nea september it, 1899. serial No. 730.438. nu man To (LZZwhom it may concern.'

Be it knowngthat I, FERDINAND MUNCH, a citizen of'the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Mouthpieces for Wind Instruments, of which the followingis a speci- In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a mouthpiece Vfor wind instruments constructed in accordance with myinvention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a similarview illustrating another method of carrying out my invention, and Fig.4 is a side view of part of the mouthpiece. i

Long-continued pressure of the rigid mouthpiece of a wind instrumentagainst'the lips of the performer has a tendency to cause paralysis ofthe nerves of the lips, and this incapacitates the player for a longeror shorter time and sometimes permanently. Inorder to overcome thisobjection, I provide a twopart mouthpiece comprising lip andthroatsections, the lip-section being independent of the throat-section, whichengages with the tube of the instrument, and being also capa-` ble -ofslight longitudinal movement independently thereof, a yielding orelastic washer beingrv i-nterposed between` the two sections of themouthpiece, so thatproper contact of the lipsjwith the lip-section canbe effected without that pressure upon the lips which is necessary whena rigid mouthpiece is employed.

In the drawings, 1 represents the main or throat` section of themouthpiece-that is to say, the portion which is intended to engage withthe tube of the instrument-and 2 represents the outer or lip' section,which is intended to be pressed against the lips. The section 1 has acentral opening which-is partly cylindrical, as represented at 3, andhas a flaring throat 4 at ythe lower or inner end, while at the outerend of said section v1 ofthe mouthpiece is an enlarged cylindricalchamberor recess 5, into which snugly fits the body of the lip-section 2of the mouthpiece, the latter terminating at its inner endin a centralcylindrical tube 6, which fitssnugly, but so as to slide .freely in thecylindrical upper portion 3 of the central opening in the section l ofthe mouthpiece. The lip-section 2 has the usual flaring mouth andterminates at the outer'end in-a projecting rib or flange 7, whichoverlaps the outer end of the section 1 of the mouthpiece. In theconstruction shown in Fig. 2 an elas-- tic washer 8, of rubberorothersuitable material, is interposed between the base of thelip-section 2 of the mouthpiece and the base of the chamber 5, formed inthel outer end of the throat-section 1, while in the construction showninv Fig,.3 the washer S is interposed between the outer end of thesectionl ofthe mouthpiece and the rib or ange 7 upon the section 2 ofthek same. In either case, how ever,v the washer provides an elasticsupport for the lip-section 2 of the mouthpiece and renders unnecessaryany excessivepressure of the same against the lips of the performer. Itwill be noted that this result is attained without any interference withthe continuity of the wind-passage of the mouthpiece or any change intheusual form or function of the same, Hence the tone of the instrnmentisnot affected.

In order to prevent the accidental removal of the lip-section of themouthpiece, I prefer to form in the saine au annular groove or channel9, into which projects theinner end of a set-screw 10, which is screwedinto a threaded opening formed in the wall of the cylindrical chamber inthe outer portion of the throat-section 1 of the mouthpiece, as .shownin Figs. 2 and 3, or a reverse arrangement may be adopted, if desired,the set.

screw being carried by the lip-section and playing in a groove or slotin the throat-'section.

Instead of using a washerof rubber or like elastic material I- may, ifdesired, use a metallic spring; but the rubber washer is pre` ferred, asit may simply consist of an ordinary rubber band, which is cheap, isreadily obtainable, and can be easily applied or removed so as to bereadily replaced when Worn. Having thus described my invention, I claimanddesirc to secure by Letters Patent- A mouthpiece for Wind instrumentscom prising lip and throat sections movable lonl gitudinally one inrespect to the other but separated by an interposed elastic mediumconstitutinga yielding seat for the lip-section, said lip-section havinga projecting tube forming a continuation of the Haring month or bell ofthe same and projecting into the FERDINAND MUNCU.

lVitncsscs:

FRANK E. BEcmoLn, J'os. II. KLElN.

